Red Fort, Delhi

March 2, 2014: Today afternoon, I will be flying back to my hometown Thiruvananthapuram after a successful Delhi-Jammu&Kashmir-Punjab trip. I managed to visit most of the attractions of Delhi during the two visits to this city. But still, there was a major attraction which I haven’t visited – The Red Fort. Red fort (Lal Qila) was the seat of the Mughals for almost 2 centuries. During my first visit to Delhi in August 2013, this site was closed to public as part of the security arrangement for Independence Day celebrations (August 15). The massive Red Fort complex houses numerous other buildings including 3 museums. My flight was scheduled at 6:00 PM, but the check-out time at hotel was 12:00 PM. So practically I’ve got half a day to manage a visit to the Fort.

Made of red sandstone, Red fort is an UNESCO world heritage site. The whole complex is massive and it would be very tiring to explore this place on a summary day and so I had to abandon the plan to visit the adjacent Salimgarh Fort. On Independence Day, Prime Minister hoists the tricolor in this fort and addresses the nation. The complex is huge and it will take more than 3 hours to explore if done at a leisurely pace. Photography is not allowed inside the 3 museums.